Phill Jupitus talks about Return Of The Jedi

George Lucas wouldn't have found himself short on options in terms of what direction to take with his third Star Wars effort, thanks to the amount of loose ends in need of post-Empire tying-up.

This, however, didn't stop him from gambling his trilogy on a planet full of cuddly toys used as an allegory for the Vietnam war, a plot twist that saw a character's previous love interest become his sister and an over-long opening sequence that failed to progress the story.

But, for those that grew up as the movies came out, this isn't an issue. Jedi is, at its heart, the perfect big finish.

With Han Solo frozen in carbonite and adorning the wall of Jabba the Hutt's palace, the motley crew of rebels, replete with their own fully-fledged Jedi in Luke Skywalker, hatch a plan to get him out of there.

Cue dozens of bizarre looking aliens, several throw-away set pieces and an old-fashioned prison break.

Soon after, R2-D2, Han Solo and co. aim to take out an all-new Death Star's defence shield, while Luke heads off to take on Darth Vader and the Emperor one last time.

The story finds a satisfying and ultimately logical conclusion to the saga, but, in spite of the best space dog-fight ever filmed and a wonderfully melodramatic showdown between Luke and Darth Vader, it managed to split opinion and failed to achieve the dizzy heights expected, perhaps unfairly, from its faithful audience.

A main point of contention is the Ewoks, of whom Lucas was accused of creating for marketing's sake only.

However it is often cited that Lucas invented the characters when originally writing the first movie, in particular, by the cast of American Graffiti.

Regardless of purpose, the Ewoks role in challenging the Empire and bringing down an elite squad of Stormtroopers was criticised by some, but lauded by many as a logical progression in storytelling.

Director Richard Marquand's style was, suspiciously, lacking from the movie, leading to reports that Lucas had in fact directed much of the movie. A theory that the quality of Empire seems to support.

Lucas, to his credit, claims he was on-set purely because of the late-Marquand's lack of experience when it came to special effects.

In spite of its flaws, Return Of The Jedi is a thrilling, satisfying old fashioned romp that ties up the loose ends and leaves you wanting more. Cue episode I, II and III...

Rich Phippen